Various technologies have been developed to enable hard of hearing individuals communicate using telephone communication systems. For example, text telephones, such as Telecommunication Devices for the Deaf (TDD), enable deaf, hard of hearing, speech-impaired individuals to communicate over the telephone with hearing and speaking parties using conventional telephones. In TDD systems, the hard of hearing person typically uses a specially equipped device with a keyboard to type messages and a text display for presenting responses to the caller.
Telecommunication relay services or dual party relay services enable deaf, hard of hearing, speech-impaired individuals to employ text telephones for engaging in a communication session over a telephone network with a person who has a conventional voice telephone. Relay services involve a hard of hearing individual using a keyboard to communicate and a display device to understand what is being said by the other party. The hearing person hears what is being said and uses his voice to communicate. A relay communication assistant (CA) acts as the interface in this situation. The CA relays information from one communication protocol to another. For example, the CA types what the hearing person says and sends the text to the hard of hearing person. The CA can also read aloud text messages from the hard of hearing person so that the hearing person can hear the message.
Other call centers may also employ various telephonic technologies. For example, a customer service center may have an automatic answering service when customers call a customer service number. The automatic answering service may pose questions to the caller. The caller may respond, for example, by inputting numbers on their telephone, which indicates an answer to a question posed to the caller. The automatic answer service may use the responses of the caller to help address the caller's concern or properly route the caller to an operator that can properly address the caller's concern.